The nation’s largest mortgage lender filed its application before the Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), which is hearing the grounded airline’s bankruptcy case.Maulik Vyas | ET Bureau | July 05, 2019, 09:30 IST

MUMBAI: Housing Development Finance Corporation has moved the bankruptcy court claiming that a portion of a Jet Airways office in Mumbai was mortgaged to it, and so should not be among the assets being considered for sale as part of the airline’s debt-resolution process.

The nation’s largest mortgage lender filed its application before the Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), which is hearing the grounded airline’s bankruptcy case.

On Thursday, HDFC’s counsel argued that three floors of the building, Jet Airways Godrej BKC, in the business district of Bandra Kurla Complex, were mortgaged to it. The NCLT bench presided over by VP Singh and Ravikumar Duraisamy posted the case for further hearing on Friday.

According to HDFC, Jet owes it Rs 414 crore. The lender recently put up a part of the office — 52,775 square feet on the fourth floor — for sale with a reserve price of Rs 245 crore, as part of efforts to recover the dues.

Lenders led by State Bank of India decided to take the airline to the bankruptcy court after failing to stitch together a revival plan, despite working on it for more than five months.

HDFC’s move is to pre-empt listing of the mortgaged office space among the assets for sale.

JET’S LANDLORD ISSUES NOTICEMeanwhile, Luckystar Property Holdings, the owner of Siroya, Jet’s six-storey headquarters of in Andheri, have sent a notice through its law firm to the airline’s interim resolution professional (IRP), asking him to facilitate repossession of the building. The lease agreement was terminated on June 7, but goods including computers and files of Jet are still lying in the office premises.

“Luckystar is seeking the interim resolution professional’s intervention to remove all Jet Airways’ belongings so that it can give the premises on lease to another third-party,” said a person privy to the development. Dhaval Mehta, managing partner of Wadia Ghandy & Co, the law firm representing Luckystar, declined to comment on the matter citing client confidentiality. Jet Airways’ IRP, Ashish Chhawchharia of Grant Thornton India, refused to comment.